Wild Fruits - planting season at the urban homestead

It is a grand fact that you cannot make the fairer fruits or parts of fruits matters of commerce; that is, you cannot buy the highest use and enjoyment of them.

You cannot buy that pleasure which it yields to him who truly plucks it.

Thoreau, Wild Fruits

our prized brown hog

the trees are blooming

veggies and flowers in Bruce's raised beds

Recycled fence post planters

Bird Brains

Arctic terns

This weekend I had the chance to attend a presentation by Badger alumnus, former Kodiak resident, and "twitcher" (Australian parlance for birder) Richard Nelson. Nelson, a cultural anthropologist, is the mastermind behind the uniquely entertaining Encounters radio program. Aired primarily on Alaskan public radio stations, Encounters features 30 minutes of uninterrupted recordings of the natural world. The show will focus on an ecosystem, a specific animal, or phenomena like snow or rain. The first time that I heard the show Nelson was quietly watching a herd of muskox. When the oxen approached Nelson, you could hear their snorts - I was hooked. Nelson also narrates the natural history of the sounds during each show. It really brings Alaska's wilderness to life when sitting in the office or riding in the car.

Semipalmated plover doin' the macarena

During Nelson's presentation he played several of his recordings, many of which were birds. He also told the audience that he would be recording urban wildlife in Anchorage sometime during his visit. I left the talk excited to get into the field and listen. Saturday morning I walked Reb to a pond near our house to spot a few feathered friends. From shore, I was able to add northern shovelers, and a yellowleg to the life list. Later at Potters Marsh near Turnagain Arm I spotted arctic terns and a canvasback. The pictures featured here are courtesy of our Kodiak friend Raymond who has a really nice camera.

Short-billed dowitcher

Whale-less

Looking into Resurrection Bay from Seward Harbor

We've been away from the blog and our readers (i.e., Moms) have voiced discontent. Job hunting, projects at work and travel plans have squeezed out bloggin' time. This here post is a belated entry from our Seward whale getaway last month. We left Rebel the weinerdog with some friends in Anchorage and drove over Turnagain Pass late Friday night after work. After driving through heavy snow and grabbing a quick sleep in the Holiday Inn Express, we caught the first boat out of the Harbor Saturday morning for a glimpse of migrating grey whale.

Aboard the Kenai Star

Before boarding the Kenai Star on Saturday morning we were excited to hear a few people say that they had seen "killers" and "greys" at the mouth of the Bay the day before. We popped in our whale eyeballs and donned raingear (temp: 41, winds: 40 mph, rain). On the way out of Resurrection Bay our captian pointed out a couple otters, several pods of Dall's porpoise, "bald-headed eagles," and a mountain goat with her kid on the shore.

Kittiwake rookery and sea lion haul-out

After passing a kittiwake rookery and a sea lion haul-out we "trawled" the mouth of the Bay for about 40 minutes hoping for spouts or a fluke. Although it felt great to get a face-full of seasalt air, we had to steam back to port with nary a whale in our scopes. The trip refreshed our sealegs and gave us a taste of our all-to-brief year on the water.

Almost Kodiak, but not quite